NEW YORK — In the late afternoon hours Saturday at Yankee Stadium, there was a symmetry of sorts among the three teams involved in one of baseball’s fairest trades. As Ian Kennedy finished off his last pitches as the Game 1 starter (and loser) for the Arizona Diamondbacks in their National League Division Series, Curtis Granderson prepared for the continuation of the Yankees’ suspended AL Division Series opener. They are the marquee names in the three-way trade that took place two years ago between those two teams and the Detroit Tigers.

But in the subterranean interview room at the stadium, Max Scherzer sat on a dais, answering questions as the Game 2 starter for the Tigers. In a trade involving a 21-game-winner and an MVP candidate, there are no regrets in the visitors clubhouse here.

“It’s very rare that everybody involved in a three-way trade gets a chance to gloat about it,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “It worked out pretty good for everybody. That’s really the way you want trades to work out. When you trade somebody to another team, as we did Curtis, it turned out great.”

As part of that December 2009 three-team, seven-player trade, the Tigers received Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth and Scherzer. Jackson has become a more than serviceable center fielder and leadoff hitter, but Scherzer has provided the greatest value in that deal.

From Arizona, he came to the organization as a hard-throwing right-hander with high potential but the issues inherent with a young power arm. He has developed into another high-strikeout starter to slot in behind Justin Verlander. To go with his 93 mph fastball, Scherzer developed a changeup as a reliable second pitch and also a slider that he can master on occasion.

“For me, it’s just becoming a complete pitcher,” Scherzer said. “Utilizing all three pitches and trying to pitch with all three of them at any single time. I feel like when I’m able to do that, that’s when I pitch my best.”

He did not get off to the best first impression in Detroit, running up a 7.29 ERA through his first eight starts last season before taking a trip down to the minors. Yet, when he returned to the majors, Scherzer was dominant. In his first start back, he struck out 14 Athletics in 5 2/3 shutout innings. From that point on, he had a 2.46 ERA in his final 23 starts of the season and 158 strikeouts in 153 2/3 innings.

This season Scherzer went 15-9 with a 4.43 ERA but by certain advanced metrics, his year was only fractionally worse than Kennedy’s, who went 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA.

He was set to start the third game of this series at Comerica Field before rain forced him to be bumped up a day, which was unfortunate for him because Scherzer is a different pitcher at home than he is on the road. His ERA is almost a run and a half higher away from home.

“I just think that’s a coincidence,” Scherzer said. “For me it really doesn’t matter. Every start is a new start. For my challenge here to go out in Game 2 and pitch, it’s just like any other start.”